Someday
by strawberry.lightning
Summary: Even after three long years, the string of fate and friendship has the trio firmly tied together. After a disturbing nightmare about Hilda, Bianca finally decides to take action. She, along with Cheren, Professor Juniper, and Hilda's melancholic mother must assist each other in embarking on one last journey: one last attempt to bring the Lost Champion home.
1. Dreams

_A/N: This story is from my Wattpad acc, but I figured I would post it here too since I'm proud of it. Enjoy~_

"Mom! I'm going out to play!"

The little blonde girl hopped down the steps to the living room, then began to skip towards the door. Exhausted after hours of cleaning, her mother gave a tired wave.

"Be back inside by seven, Bianca, you know Papa will flip if you're out too late."

Bianca didn't respond, a bad habit of hers, and instead threw open the front door with a bang. She almost didn't hear her mother call out to her right as she stepped outside,

"and don't forget to introduce yourself to the new neighbors!"

Bianca ran down the dirt road with a happy spring in her step. The heat of the summer sun made her smile brighten. In her new frilly orange top and white shorts, she felt like she could do anything. Her big, green beret fell over her eyes, and she pushed it back up with a giggle. She'd just taken in a breath to shout for her best friend, but he beat her to the punch.

"Bianca, you're late again!"

"Soooorry, Cheren!"

Cheren was a smart young boy with large glasses and short, black hair. Though he was six months younger than Bianca, he was more mature and organized than she could ever hope to be. Despite their differences, the two were fast friends.

That day, Cheren wore a red and white striped shirt, and basketball shorts down to his knees. His shoes were worn-in, but not necessarily dirty.

"We got a new neighbor yesterday," Cheren said stiffly, as if unsure how to continue.

"Mom says she has a daughter, and she's our age!" Bianca cried, clapping her hands.

"Yeah, I know, my mom told me that too."

They stared awkwardly at each other. Bianca, giddy to make a new friend, and Cheren, suspicious as always of the new kid. Bianca tried to look him in the eye, but he continued to stare analytically at the ground.

"What's wrong, Cheren? Aren't you excited about having a new friend?" Bianca's excitement quickly faded into concern as her friend didn't seem happy at all. He sighed, spinning around on his heel for a moment before responding.

"W-well... I am excited, but..." he adjusted his glasses, looking up to the front door of the new neighbor's house, "You know... she's a girl, so..."

"Oh-em-GEE!" Bianca shouted, cutting off Cheren completely, "You can't talk to girls, can you!? That's why you're so-"

"NO! Bianca, no, of course I can talk to girls!" His face now bright red, Cheren shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was _going _to say that because she's a girl, you'll leave me hanging to go do gross girly stuff!" Bianca seemed shocked by his outburst for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, her surprise broke into a smile, and she grabbed Cheren's shoulder.

"Cheren, you're being silly! We won't leave you behind to do gross girly stuff, you'll still be my best friend too!" Bianca let her arm drop to her side. She started to turn towards their new friend's house, taking slow steps up the path. Cheren reluctantly followed, their tiny footsteps leaving prints in the dirt.

They approached the dull green door side by side, and Bianca raised her hand to knock. Her knuckles made soft tapping sounds against the wood of the door. Voices could be heard from inside, calling out to someone. Then there was the thumping of small feet down the stairs, and the door finally creaked open.

The little girl who answered the door was no bigger than Bianca or Cheren themselves. She had poofy brown hair down to her shoulders, and bright blue eyes. She wore a white T-shirt with navy overalls. Her face didn't hold a lot of expression, she was definitely a quiet type.

"Hi! My name is Bianca! I'm nine years old, my favorite color is green, and I love Pokemon, and glitter, and new clothes, and— ooh! Also—"

Cheren smacked Bianca's shoulder, frowning at her. She stopped, bashfully looking away.

"What she's trying to say is that she— sorry, _we_ want to be your friends."

The girl on the other side of the door blinked. For a moment, there was no response. She narrowed her eyes at Cheren.

"And what's your name?"

"... What-?" Cheren stammered, nearly forgetting his own name.

"What's your name? How old are you? What do _y_o_u_ like?"

"I, uh..." Cheren scratched the back of his head, glancing at Bianca as a plea for help. He cleared his throat. "My name is Cheren, I'm eight, and I like Pokemon, books, and, uh... video games...?" His discomfort increased with each second that passed under the new girl's suspicious stare. Eventually, her squinted eyes returned to normal and she opened the door a little wider. She wiped her nose, looking at the two in front of her.

"I'm Hilda. Eight. Pokemon are cool. I have a Wii upstairs, we can play Mario Kart."

Bianca and Cheren both happily agreed, and Bianca used the time it took to walk inside and up the stairs to bombard Hilda with questions.

"When's your birthday?"

"October ninth."

"Oooh! You're still older than Cheren! Sorry, Cheri.~ What's your favorite color?"

"Purple."

"Where did you live before here?"

"Oreburgh City."

"Where's that?"

"Sinnoh region."

"Sounds fun!"

"Not really. The funnest thing there was a coal museum. Total snooze fest."

Cheren frowned. A coal museum didn't sound too bad to him.

"Umm... What's your favorite Pokémon type?"

"Water."

"Ooh! Do you fish?"

"No."

It was obvious that Hilda wasn't a very talkative person. She led the two up to her large bedroom, where boxes stood in stacks piled high. Cheren and Bianca looked around in wonder.

"That's a lot of boxes," muttered Cheren.

"Some of them go to different rooms," Hilda replied simply, stopping in the middle of the room.

A loud boom was heard outside, and the ground shook. The three looked out the window in surprise to see that black storm clouds had formed over the sky. A thunderstorm was coming fast.

"Those clouds look nasty..." Bianca whispered, edging closer to Cheren and Hilda. Another booming crack. The ground shook. The lights went out. Bianca screamed. Neither Cheren nor Hilda responded in any way. Bianca looked up from the floor.

Cheren and Hilda weren't moving, but they stared directly into her eyes. There was a third person there, a little boy about their age. He had long, tangled white hair and wore an orange shirt. A strange cube hung around his neck.

"N! What are you—"

Thunder. The ground shook harder. The stacks of boxes were no longer there, replaced by tall men in robes who seemed to grow bigger and bigger by the second. Hilda's home faded away, morphing into the crystal tiles and golden walls of a palace.

Faceless men and women in black uniforms came rushing out, pulling Hilda away. Bianca cried out to her, but she didn't answer. She just stared blankly into the distance. The cries of pokemon echoed and bounced off the walls, overwhelming Bianca's senses. The seven men above her were speaking, but she couldn't hear. She blocked out their voices, and tried to find Hilda, but she wasn't there anymore. Where did she go? The robed men reached out for her, their hands getting closer and closer...

Bianca woke with a start. She sat up, and reached over for the lamp on the bedside table. The light clicked on at her touch, and she looked around her room. She put on her glasses. The digital clock on the wall read 4:15. Grabbing her Xtransceiver off of the vanity, she headed off to the kitchen to think about the dream she just had.

As she walked passed, she heard her Stoutland huff.

"Come on, Lil, let's go outside."

Upon hearing the word 'outside', Stoutland's tail thumped against the floor. It stood up, stretched, and pranced towards the back door. Bianca let it out, and it went running out into the dirt.

The muggy smell from the outside told her that it had just rained. She called out for Stoutland to be careful of mud puddles, but stayed leaning on the door frame for a moment.

"Today is May twelfth," she whispered, "I turn nineteen in a month." Stating random truths was her best grounding technique, so she found. "My best friend Cheren turns nineteen on December twenty-eighth. He's a gym leader." She looked up at the starry sky, and swore she saw a bit of pink. "My other best friend, Hilda, will turn nineteen on October ninth. She's..." Bianca realized she didn't have another truth to say because she didn't know the truth. She sighed, and moved on. "Our friend N turned twenty last month, on the thirtieth. I didn't say anything because I don't know what he does now." She stood in another moment of silence, her arms folded over her t-shirt. "He likes ferris wheels, so maybe I should take a visit to Nimbasa..."

Stoutland came running back up to the door, ready to go inside. She stepped aside and let it in, then closed the door behind her. Bianca knelt down to wipe the dirt off of Stoutland's paws before letting it jump up onto the couch. Then, she left to brew a pot of coffee.

As she poured cream into her coffee, she suddenly had a thought. "Cross-transceiver," she said, "call Cheren." As she put the cream back into the fridge, she heard the watch's robotic voice.

"Calling Cheren..." It said, followed by several beeps. Bianca heard her friend pick up just as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Hello?" Cheren's voice was tired, but Bianca could tell she hadn't woken him up.

"Hey, Cheren," Bianca smiled, "long time no see."

"You're up early."

"Yeah," Bianca took another sip of coffee, "I wanted to ask you something."

Cheren laughed. "You woke up early just to ask me a question?"

"Well, no, but..." she frowned, her brow furrowing, "... Shut up. Anyways, can you meet me in the club room tomorrow?"

'Meet me in the club room' was something Bianca hadn't said in a long time. The club room referred to a place in the dreamyard, underneath the remnants of the tall structure that once stood there. She, Hilda, and Cheren would meet there almost nightly to tell each other about their separate journeys. She missed those nights.

"That's... a bit of a trip, but yeah. I can make it." Cheren didn't ask any questions. Bianca could practically see him just giving a polite nod in response to her request.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," she said, "thank you."

"See you then."

Three beeps signaled the call disconnecting.


	2. Fireflies

The next day, just as the afternoon shifted to evening, Cheren stood outside of his gym in Aspertia City. It took him hours to find himself a substitute, and as far as he knew, he'd only be gone for a day. He would've just closed the gym, but he had several challengers set to arrive the next morning, and he would've hated to cancel. He felt bad for leaving on such short notice, but any trainer petty enough not to accept a badge from anyone could just wait a day or two.

"And you know where the badges are kept, right?" He stared the blue-haired teen dead in the eye as he spoke, questioning whether or not this would be a good choice.

"Yes, Sir," his neighbor tried a smile. It looked good on him. Cheren had always known the young man to be a trustworthy person and a powerful trainer, though he most definitely had a bit of a snap temper. Despite this, he cared deeply for Pokemon.

In a flash of white, the boy's Samurott had released itself and appeared behind him. It was his first Pokemon, raised from an egg before his journey even started. Cheren chuckled at the embarrassed, fragmented sentences coming from his substitute's mouth as the large Pokemon nuzzled his back.

"You are under no circumstances allowed to battle with Samurott in my gym," Cheren said with a smile. Of course, this had already been established, but there was no harm in poking fun. As he turned, he waved one last goodbye. "Take care, Hugh. I'll be back soon."

"B-bye Cheren! I won't let you down!"

The subway was hot and crowded. Cheren held a death grip on one of the support poles as each jerk of the ancient train nearly threw him forward. The noise level didn't bother him. His status as a schoolteacher made him used to overly loud chatter, but his lack of personal space had him sweating like a Grumpig.

When a group of Ace Trainers stepped off at Nacrene City, Cheren had room to sit down. He stared at the floor, thinking of Bianca and what she may want to say. It likely had something to do with Hilda, but he didn't much like to think of her. It reminded him of how badly he missed her.

He missed Bianca too, of course. In fact, he felt as if his childhood had slipped between his fingers. His job kept him on his toes; it was the times when he slowed down and really thought about his life that it all seemed to come crashing down.

"Stop 2, Striaton City— riders headed for the Dreamyard should disembark here." Cheren stood and waited for the doors to slide open, ignoring the way his stomach sank with motion sickness. He took a few deep breaths, and joined a cloud of people to step off the subway. He then followed this cloud up the stairs to the station before it finally dispersed in the streets.

Cheren was shocked to know how suddenly nostalgic the scents of Striaton made him feel. He could smell the richness coming from the restaurant, the smoke from a grill somewhere far away, and there was a hint of something else— the smell of home.

The sky had turned deep purple by the time he crossed the gates into the Dreamyard. Suddenly, he felt like a child again. The Dreamyard made him feel as if it were just him and his friends. He didn't have a job to go back to, no bills to pay, and no life to waste. There was only the bond between him and his Pokemon, Bianca, and Hilda.

He found her sleeping in the corner underneath the broken staircase. Her glasses sat at the tip of her nose, and around her lay her Pokemon, two members of the trustworthy team he'd battled so many times before. Emboar, the heat of its breath sending sparks into the air, and Musharna, with Dream Mist that seemed to float through the sky like tiny pink fireflies.

"Hey, there..." whispered Cheren when Emboar huffed to acknowledge him. He bent to shake Bianca awake, but seeing her so comfortable like this made old memories resurface.

This was exactly the way she would curl up on his couch for a night, or after a stressful day at work. It felt like so long ago that he was bringing her coffee and letting her rest her head against his chest.

"This doesn't feel right," she said to him one day, "I feel like we're... betraying her." She nearly forced him to admit to himself that it was true. They were drawn to each other because they both felt that companionship was the only way to cope with her loss. Hilda's loss.

That was the last time he kissed her.

Pushing through the loneliness that came rushing back, Cheren gave his friend a nudge. She stirred, looking up at him, and smiled.

"Cheren, there you are." Bianca calmly pushed her glasses into place, stood, and greeted Cheren with a hug. Then, they both freed their Pokemon, and sat for a long-awaited talk.

"What did you need me here for?" Cheren immediately asked, "Over the Cross-Transceiver you sounded... sad. Really sad." Bianca thought for a moment, looking up at the stars as she rolled the words around before speaking.

"I had a dream about Hilda last night," she said. Then, to Cheren's skeptical expressions she added, "I never have dreams anymore, Mushy usually eats them all... but not this one."

"Okay," Cheren leaned on his knees and put a finger to his chin, "what was the dream about?"

"We had just met for the first time, all three of us. It was just like our first play date together, but suddenly the robed men dragged us all away from each other."

Cheren's eyebrows raised. "Robed men?"

Bianca nodded. "The robed men... you know, the guys working with Team Plasma...?" Cheren's eyes flashed with understanding. The Sages of Plasma were bitter old men with far too much power, who were far too good and getting what they wanted. Most were arrested when Plasma was shut down for good, but some had yet to be tracked. "Cheren," she said, "I think it's a sign."

"A sign?"

"Yes," Bianca took off her orange jacket and looked worriedly up to the sky. Cheren thought the early summer heat must've been baking her alive. "Mushy eats all of my dreams. I never remember them anymore... but not this one. It has to mean something, right? The one dream I remember has everything to do with Hilda. I think, deep down, Mushy knows that Hilda is still out there. I think... I think we all do."

Cheren closed his eyes in thought. "Bianca," he began, "Hilda is the strongest trainer in the region. If she wants to come home, she will—"

"But what if she can't?!" Bianca cried, startling Cheren, "Don't you think she would've come home by now? We had the whole region searching for her! Cheren, I think she's in danger."

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Cheren showed Bianca his empty hands, "what _can _we do?"

Bianca sounded almost prepared to answer. "We go out there, and we find her. And this time we don't stop until we bring her home."

A silence spread out between them. They looked each other dead in the eyes. Cheren took a breath. The air was heavy and hot. The Dreamyard was empty except for the two of them, and dark except for the light of Emboar's fire, and the soft glow of Dream Mist. Bianca's eyes seemed to gleam with a spark all of their own. Finally, he exhaled.

"Alright," he said, "where do we start?"


	3. Pizza

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p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="33b15627522c988ccb52db0103a2c992""I don't read novels, Bianca," he said, "just flip through them and skim for any notes, you don't have to read anything."/p  
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p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="3931fbcd95b32bec1fde9b7a8d4b4ff1""Hilda was— em style="box-sizing: border-box;"is/em like a sister to us. We'll never stop looking until we can bring her home." These words seemed to console her, and soon she had pulled Bianca into a tight embrace. This long period of grief had not treated Mamasan well. She had gained a complexion permanently worn with fatigue, and she seemed to carry herself in a way that told you Hilda had never left her mind. Wrinkles had formed in her face and hands, and her aura of sorrow seemed everlasting./p  
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p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d91b4ecafc7e77947b240cc0ef6dd5ee""We're in this together," he said, "we'll find her if it kills us."/p  
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p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="4fd66037bf7ba045041881eed0649988"As she began to fall asleep, more memories resurfaced. Thoughts of laying with Hilda and Cheren in this very room on hot days, eating popsicles and doing nothing. The excitement that came with unwrapping the box containing their first Pokemon, their best partners, almost six years ago. Perhaps this was the most appropriate place to start after all: the place where it all began./p 


	4. Snow

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6fb27a4c9fd5351090565be1b43572d4"Years ago, when the wind still whispered of a bright future as it slinked through the trees, Cheren held lively dreams of victory. Since the very start of his journey, at just 10 years old, his heart was set on rising to the top. It was the four years he spent with his pokemon, traversing every inch of Unova with his closest friends, that brought him to truly understand his priorities. Of course, becoming as great of a trainer as he could possibly be lingered on his mind like a shining beacon, but over time he came to realize that he valued the closeness of companionship more than anything. If there was anyone he could point to in teaching him that most important lesson, it was style="box-sizing: border-box;" /Of course, Bianca was always dear to his heart, but it was Hilda who guided him through vocalizing those feelings. More than that, Hilda had a special connection with the world. She got along so well with him, with Bianca, with pokemon, even with nature itself. It was something that Cheren thought went beyond a love for the outdoors. The way her skin glowed in the sun, the way her hair seemed to wrap around each gust of wind, as if dancing to its eternal song, all spoke of a higher link between that girl and the universe. Hilda's eyes, deep and blue as the world's vast oceans, searched constantly for something new to discover. She was enchanting. To Cheren, to Bianca, to everyone. br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /It was a cloudy afternoon; the wind was freezing. They were only a few months into their journey, yet 2 gym badges down and miles away from home. Hilda and Cheren walked side by side through the woods, the snow clinging to their ankles with icy death grips. Neither of them dared to blink, their eyes stayed peeled while on the search for Team Plasma. High above was Hilda's Woobat, scouring the trees from the sky. They spent hours checking every nook and cranny of Pinwheel Forest for any of the hooded scoundrels. br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /Cheren's mind seemed to hyperfocus on that moment. He remembered every sight and sound as if they were happening in the present. The wet crunch of snowflakes being crushed under their feet, the slow rustle of pokemon in the grass, Woobat's soft squeaks echoing off of the heavy clouds. He remembered Purrloin, shivering in his arms as he struggled for warmth, the way Hilda's entire head seemed to move as she chewed on a handful of Chesto Berries, and using his only free hand to constantly wipe his glasses on his pants, lest his own breath render him blind. He remembered every detail, big or small, right up to Hilda's shriek of "There you are, scum of the Earth!"br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /It startled him. Not only because the shout was loud enough to send all nearby Pidove flying into the wind, but also because it was the first time he'd ever witnessed such an outburst from Hilda. In the years he'd known her, she'd always been very reserved and calm. Her only words for Team Plasma outside of confrontation were "They're bad news, I don't like 'em one bit." Needless to say, that swirling scream of rage left him shocked. br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /The grunt before them was a woman, tall and muscular with bright orange hair. Just looking at her, one could instantly see how a physical confrontation would end. "You have words for me, Child?" she sneered. She looked to have more to say, but was interrupted by the screech of Woobat as he swooped down to attack. In the nick of time, Woobat was swept away by an alarmingly fast strike. Hilda and Cheren looked to see that a Deerling had emerged from the grunt's belt. Woobat recovered. Cheren released Purrloin from his arms with a style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Thunder wave!" Sparks shot out from Purrloin's body in a fanning wave, hurling towards the opposing team without thought. Deerling and its trainer seemed to jump in sync, each in a different direction and just barely missing the attack entirely. However, the Pokémon couldn't recover fast enough to dodge the air cutter attack that sent sharp blades of wind rippling through its chestnut style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Come on, Cheren!" Said Hilda, "we can do this. Let them know how you truly feel!" Cheren met her eyes, then Purrloin's. He dug his feet further into the snow. He would walk back into Nacrene City a victor, with or without the—br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /He saw it at the same time Hilda did. Tucked beneath the Plasma grunt's arm was the dragon skull they'd been searching hours for. A momentary silence. Then, simultaneously, "The dragon skull!" Their opponent style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Pathetic that you should notice it only now," she smirked. "It doesn't matter, you won't be leaving with it! Deerling, leech seed!" Little pellets came shooting out of the flower on Deerling's head, burying themselves beneath the ground. Seconds later, vines emerged from the frozen soil. They reached for Woobat to no avail, but snagged Purrloin within style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Purrloin!" Cheren cried, "why, you..." the words were stuck in his style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Cheren," Hilda's voice cut through the fight with the power to silence all surrounding noise and erase this battle from their minds. "Say it. Statistics, probability... that's not what battles are about. Let your feelings out! Together, we can win!"br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /When the fight came rushing back to him, he understood the depth of Hilda's passion for pokemon. If only a little bit, he began to understand what he had been missing all along. Then came true realization of everything that was at stake against Team style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Assurance!" In one fluid motion, Hilda's arm shot out and Woobat went careening towards Deerling. He struck his target hard, sending it back a few feet. Deerling tried for another jump kick, but Woobat was ready this time, and flew out of the way. Deerling crashed, only furthering the damage. Cheren suddenly knew what to style="box-sizing: border-box;" /And so did Purrloin, it seemed... and Hilda, and Woobat. In the blink of an eye, they were connected. The path became so clear, all at style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Scratch!"br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Air cutter!"br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /The combined attack directed not at Deerling, but at Purrloin managed to free him from the dried vines that drained him of his energy. Woobat dropped the Oran Berry he was holding, returning a fraction of Purrloin's strength. With Purrloin free, one objective style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"This is it!"br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /The two braced themselves, so tangled in the heat of the moment that neither were sure of who had just spoke those style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"This time, to end it! Woobat, heart stamp!"br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Purrloin, fury swipes!" The sheer weight of Woobat crashing into Deerling sent it tumbling backwards. As Purrloin's claws followed loyally in tow, their opponents were style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Hand over the dragon skull, you good for nothing twig!" Cheren tried. A snort from Hilda was interrupted when the entire skull was chucked at her as if it weighed no more than a baseball. Woobat swooped in to catch her fall. Deerling returned to its pokeball as the grunt started to style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Tsk!" She hissed, "our King's dreams... the truths we fight for, what good are they now? Without the skull..." she took a few steps away, but suddenly she bumped into a tall, thickly robed man. The surprise radiated through the entire group as the grunt's exit had been clear seconds before. Their enemy's breath suddenly snagged in her style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"L... Lord Gorm!" In the blink of an eye, this tall, strong tree of a woman was reduced to her knees before the one she called Gorm. His response was quiet, his voice hauntingly style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Rise, Child... We are fellow subjects of our King. I merely came to check your progress." The unnamed soldier rose to her feet and stammered for a while, trying to explain the circumstances that lead to her defeat. The loss of the dragon skull seemed to devastate her, but he simply raised his hand. "It matters not. The dragon skull is no longer a needed asset to our plan." Gorm's attention then turned to Cheren, then style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"You have a strong spirit. Join us, we will make you our most honorable, most powerful fighter. Release your Pokémon, and be welcomed into the arms of Team Plas—"br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"That sounds really stupid." In the time it had taken for Gorm to give Hilda a quite tempting sales pitch, she'd gone back to digging into her Chesto Berries and stopped paying attention altogether. They crunched loudly as she broke through their thick skin with her teeth. Gorm inhaled deeply, then his face momentarily contorted in style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Such deliberate disrespect shown to I, Gorm, one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma?" He got closer, so close that the only thing separating he and Hilda was her little handful of dry berries. Each step she took back, he took style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Leave her alone!" Cheren cried, "Purrloin, scratch!" Purrloin lunged, but was harshly shoved away by Gorm before he could ruin the man's style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"You'll think better than to attack me, Boy." Gorm snapped, yet his voice stayed slow. "You..." he said to Hilda, "I'll see to it that you never ruin our plans again." He raised his hand towards her, a deadly look in his style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"... Cheren! Hilda!" A booming voice echoed in the distance, searching through the trees. Gorm looked up sharply, a scowl on his style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"We will meet again, Child, never forget this day." With that, he turned away, walking menacingly into the dense woods. He left the grunt style="box-sizing: border-box;" /The now very flustered Plasma criminal looked sharply at Cheren and Hilda, then said, "Mae's the name you should remember, it'll be the last one you think about when I knock you both out."br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /After she fled, Lenora emerged from behind them. The moment she saw them, she frantically style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Oh, thank the myths, you found it!" She scooped the dragon skull from Hilda's hand and cradled it for a moment. With her hands free, Hilda could now hold her pouch of berries without much trouble. After a moment, Lenora took a moment to step back and look at the two of them. "Goodness, you two look rough." She stepped aside, allowing the two to pass through her and go back the way they came./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="eca8c5104a1f89db753c6223072c6a29"Cheren and Hilda sat in the library, shivering under the blankets Lenora had given them, waiting for Nurse Joy to arrive and give them a checkup. Beside them sat Bianca, who bombarded them with question after question about their adventures in the style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Was it scary?" She asked, "Did you think you were gonna die?— Hilda, stop eating those berries, you won't sleep for weeks!— Who's Gorm?" Any answers she would've gotten were cut short as Nurse Joy came running up to style="box-sizing: border-box;" /The rest of the memory was a blur, blending with the rest Cheren's experiences on the adventure that changed his life. He remembered thermometers and healers, free food and fresh water, and losing count over the number of times he'd said "thank you". What stuck out most following that disaster of an afternoon were the words he shared with Hilda at the Pokemon Center that night. br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"In the forest today, you... you had such an outburst." They sat in chairs by the door, flipping through magazines, and watching the snow fall while Bianca went shopping. "What was that all about?"br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /"Mae... I had to tell her how I felt. Team Plasma is a group of hopeless scoundrels, I just can't stand them." She looked up, watching for Bianca's big green hat in line at the Pokemart. "In my head, there's no point in living life if you can't give people the good ol' verbal 1-2. Feelings are important." He could tell Hilda was tired. She rambled out whatever her brain presented to her. "Cheren... You should feel a little more."br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /Cheren woke to the rays of sunlight pouring through Hilda's bedroom window on the morning of May Fourteenth./p 


	5. Breakfast

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="a9340991f154d9f8de0df455d1fd060b"The sweat that clung to the soles of Cheren's feet were what kept the young man from falling down the hardwood stairs in a tired stumble. May had settled in, and summer was on the brink of the horizon. Spending however many hours asleep under a thick quilt was a mistake, he decided. The mugginess would've suffocated him if not for the interruption of the morning sun./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="b172b53a230605d210918c7a07c648e4""Good morning, Cheren!" Mamasan, early riser that she was, called out a cheerful greeting the very moment she heard Cheren thumping his way down the stairs. His response wasn't much more than a grumpy groan and a wave, but she seemed to appreciate it all the same. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="b1f0270baf0c713e82c5a82edaeb5ee9"Seated at the bar that divided the kitchen and sitting room was Bianca. Seeing her without her signature green beret wasn't something that shocked him anymore, nor was the sight of her without an orange overcoat of sorts. Without her glasses, however, she looked so much more... adult. Seeing her there reminded him of the many nights they'd spent together in his bed, fading in and out of lazy slumber. He couldn't think of the touch of her hand for very long before her face became Hilda's, and the guilt started to stab at what little was left of his imaginative brain./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6c99a92ed489a60ea487e15d59165a66""Morning," said Bianca tiredly, rubbing her eyes. She wasn't a morning person, but a light sleeper. Mamasan had more than likely woken her up with her puttering around the kitchen and need to watch the morning news. She probably said something like, "is it too loud? I can quiet down for a while", to which Bianca would most definitely reply with "no, it's fine, I was about to get up and going anyways." A total lie, but it was just the kind of person she was. Always willing to twist her own words so as not to seem like a burden. Cheren wished she would loosen up, take people on their offers, but it wasn't anything for him to decide./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d808fead57736a4875065f46f6e1360e""You're just in time for breakfast!" An empty plate touched the counter in front of Cheren at the exact moment he touched the stool. He could feel the renewed sense of energy radiating off of Mamasan even from the distance at which he sat. She had confidence in them. She was so, so hopeful that this time would be it. This time, Hilda would come home. "You should release your Pokemon," she said, using a towel to bring a pan off the stove, "It's been a while, no need to keep them all cooped up."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="12903202a379c74913bd9ca9e3fe585b""I dunno about all that," muttered Cheren./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="872f2dea945a9ff5810c034604709d43""Too early," sighed Bianca, "but I suppose just one wouldn't do much harm." She tossed a pokeball into the air without hesitation. The flash of light brought on more heat than Cheren wanted to feel. When the white glow had settled, there stood Emboar, prideful and strong. Mamasan looked delighted./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d73b15f3f7c8c58ba9cdbd6d44e4f7bc""Reuven, hello!" Bianca looked almost surprised to hear that Mamasan had remembered the nickname she'd given her first partner. Emboar's usual smile spread wide, even his large fangs and bulky body couldn't hide his friendly nature. Cheren didn't notice the fancy-looking tin on the counter until Mamasan grabbed it and brought it to Emboar. When she popped off the lid, a delightful smell filled the room. "I bought these a little while ago," she chirped, "Pokepuffs straight from Kalos! Go ahead, take one!" If there was anything you could give the woman credit for, it was her exquisite treatment of Pokemon. Her knowledge and humanization of their intelligence bordered on that of a professor's. It seemed to take Emboar a moment to decide, sniffing each one before selecting a bright green pastry from the tin. It closely resembled a macaron or a cupcake, decorated on top with frosting and colorful candies. Emboar's mighty beard flared upon scarfing it down./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="a30dbb3b06dc19c5d60ee7f7f4e96013""Delicious, aren't they?" Mamasan closed the tin and turned to Cheren. He took one look at her expectant expression and sighed./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6283b27b0f70e0ff5a3d01648f0377d7""Fine," he joked, tossing his pokeball in a similar fashion to Bianca. The burst of light that followed smelled as the air would after a summer rain, the radiating scent of Ozone and healthy vegetation. Serperior emerged, her nose turned to the sky. She caught a whiff of the now reopened tin in her face. With a permitting nod from Mamasan, the regal Pokemon began to search the tin carefully. Her pointed nose stopped in front of a bright orange puff, iced and adorned with decorative leaves. Her eyes met Mama's again, and she seemed to take the hint. She dug out the puff and held it for Serperior to eat. The Pokemon's serpentine body coiled with delight upon tasting the treat; Mamasan returned to the kitchen with a smile. Both Pokemon seemed to make themselves at home then, finding comfortable places to sit and interact./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="fb0a1f60d0f2cd12832a2fa3ae22bb2c""Pancakes are ready!" Cheren and Bianca, both motivated by their stomachs, slid out of their stools and approached the counter. The pancakes they loaded onto their plates were a perfect golden brown with specks of blue. Chesto berries./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="ba40400f6387c5368ea2e84ef555228a""em style="box-sizing: border-box;"That explains the dream.../em" Cheren thought to himself as he moved on to place a few rounds of sausage on his plate. Bianca returned to her stool after dumping way too much syrup on her pancakes, forgoing any meat./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="7ac6c20b682ba1f93aaf42a4c414f1fa""Are you not that hungry, Bianca?" Mamasan untied her apron, lifting it over her head and folding it into a neat square./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="a31a23d3b1ed9f3386e23fbea8adb6a9""No," said Bianca with a mouthful of pancake, "I'm just not much of a meat eater anymore."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="3cbcd206c97dd23d9aa5c2f8f0837f3e""Oh!" Mamasan didn't break eye contact as she placed her folded apron gently on the counter. "I can make you something else, if you'd like!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="2f7f3fb887e7c6a5a089b834fecc44d3""No, I'm okay."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="477ded11bfbaf871af7b5bc939101f5d""Are you sure? I have vegetables, fruits, berries galore..." She searched her kitchen with her eyes, recalling the contents of each cabinet and drawer./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="f787c0e49d975dd4f80dd675721d3a20""No, I..." Bianca bent to take another bite, but felt Cheren and Emboar's eyes on her. She glanced at them both before saying, "... Actually, if you have some milk, that would go nicely with this." Mamasan was more than happy to comply. Bianca was red from ear to ear, asking apparently had required some effort. She had thanked Mamasan a total of three times in the process it took for her to fetch the milk, pour it into a glass, and set the glass by her plate. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="7d840f58e71d5b14b702d6d75482c43c"The rest of breakfast went on in silence, each person trying to think of a way to address the elephant in the room. Cheren was the first to speak of it, sick of the quiet grating on his ears. He'd become accustomed to noise in his work environment, there was always some form of chatter./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="e4a03dec4e8b0ccaceea1b2638a4849f""So..." he began, "... The police claim to have combed every corner of the region. You think she's still here?" Mamasan nodded before she said anything. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="56bd16842bc6468a33757b0b572c9033""Call it a mother's intuition," she said, "Hilda... is still in Unova. She feels far, yet... close." Cheren collected his silverware and plate, then held an arm out for Bianca's. She took her last bite and set her dishes atop Cheren's, then watched thoughtfully as he took them to the sink to wash./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="d5d75a8bde5484a7fdcc093550288a60""So, where do we start?" she asked. She dug her town map from the bag hanging on the back of her chair. The map took up almost the entire counter. "Here's Nuvema Town." She pointed to a dot on the bottom right of the paper. "It doesn't make sense for her to be here, but this may as well act as our starting point. We'll search everywhere from... Oh, but that would take so much time..." She bit her lip and leaned on Emboar, who had wandered over to check up on her. "How do the cops do it? Just thinking about scanning the entire region is making my head spin."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="a73140665be8077bd8325ee380416328""Well," Mamasan piped up, "what about people? Is there anyone she would've, y'know..." she really didn't have to finish her sentence, they were all thinking of the same person. Bianca straightened, fingers fidgeting, eyes locked on the dot labelled em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Nimbasa City/em./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6f3b6517572e8659f522803971da7bb3""N..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="b692da008511104fcf96f1e4148fde47""Harmonia..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="3ea691777c65ebb5554a3fad72a7b51d"To speak of the man left a bad taste in Cheren's mouth. He was a redeemable guy, possibly, but he personally hadn't interacted with him long enough to make the mental change back from Team Plasma thug to oddball rival. And he em style="box-sizing: border-box;"especially/em hadn't the slightest clue what Hilda saw in the man./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="081d41289e712bf5a866be3535f42794""Maybe," Mamasan said hopefully, "finding N should be our first step. It was what she wanted, anyway." Cheren and Bianca thought this through, both staring at the map in silence. It would be a lie to say they didn't both at least hold a little blame towards N for their dear friend's disappearance. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="b5d47bbcc97b45ef9983d1812dd6f2e0""Feelings aside, it's a logical decision." Cheren folded his hands, leaning now on his elbows. Bianca nodded in agreement./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="2832b5943df4ea8ab2126969f452a1d8""I was hoping you would agree," Mamasan said with a knowing smile. She caught her guests' suspicious glances at the same time she caught creak of the front door opening. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="dc3d570065b604badb5e22d10014d6d0""Mamasan, I know you were the one that called me, but I've got a serious..." A voice only slightly familiar filled the room. Cheren and Bianca turned simultaneously to see who had interrupted their discussion. "Oh, is this a bad time?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="7ce36f01c71a2e8e9096a515e6f01813"Standing there was the current Champion of the Unova League./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="7ce36f01c71a2e8e9096a515e6f01813"emA/N: So I know I just droppe of chapters at once. I just want the story to be up to speed here. I didn't clarify it here, but I'm too lazy to think of a name for Hilda's mom, so I just called her Mamasan. Thanks for reading, everyone. /em/p 


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